Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

NC · Healthcare shortage profile

Haywood County, NC

Peak severity leads this reading: Haywood County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 62,089.

Active HPSAs
6
Population
62,089
Peak shortage score
16.0
MUA Index
53.2

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Haywood County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 6 active HPSA designations, more than 54% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

6
Active HPSA designations
2
Mental-health shortages
16
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 46%
US counties by volume

Few Census ZCTAs touch Haywood County

The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 7 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Haywood County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).

Intersecting ZCTA

2 additional ZCTAs intersect this county in the crosswalk (ordered by land share).

Source: Census ZCTA–county relationship file joined to this portal's county FIPS set. As of 2026-08-15.

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Haywood County, NC on its own pages , computed from the retained designation mirror as of 2026-08-15. Each line carries its own denominator so it can be quoted as it stands.

  1. Closing Haywood County's active designations would take about 7.4 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 2.1 primary care, 1.3 mental health, 4 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  2. 33.3% of Haywood County's 6 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).

  3. Peak HPSA score 16.0 sits below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.

    Below-17 designations still count as shortages for program geography, but they do not clear the high-priority NHSC placement threshold on this release.

Corpus placement

Designated volume without a high-priority score

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Haywood County carries 6 active designations, above 54% of real US counties. None of those scores clear HRSA's high-priority line of 17 on this release, so the page leads with severity reading rather than a national distribution chart.

State peer position. Haywood County falls in the upper half of NC counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 100. Ties share a rank.

Computed from current designated HPSA rows for every five-digit county FIPS. See the placement methodology.

Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 37087. Population: 62,089.

Below high-priority line

Haywood County is designated, but no active score clears 17

6 active designations sit on this FIPS (2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental), and the peak severity is 16.0. That is a formal shortage footprint without HRSA's high-priority (≥17) tier, so NHSC placement geography is usually weaker here than on counties whose lead score clears the line.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 53.2

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 13.0
Mental Health 16.0
Dental 16.0

Current designated records only. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?

Highest-severity HPSA designations

All 6 active (designated) HPSAs in Haywood County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Mission Community Primary Care-Haywood mental_health 16.0
LI - Haywood County mental_health 16.0
LI - Haywood County dental 16.0
Mission Community Primary Care-Haywood dental 15.0
LI - Haywood County primary_care 13.0
Mission Community Primary Care-Haywood primary_care 10.0

Moderate-burden reading for Haywood County

Peak severity leads this reading: Haywood County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Haywood County's shortage runs equally deep in mental health and dental care: both scored 16.0 by HRSA, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Primary care reads 13.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 53.2, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Haywood County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 54% of counties) with 6 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Haywood County falls in the upper half of NC counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 100. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Haywood County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Haywood County's active designations: about 7.4 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Counties near Haywood County's mental score of 16.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 16.0 (severity lead on this page is “MISSION COMMUNITY PRIMARY CARE-HAYWOOD”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Haywood County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Haywood County carries an MUA designation (index 53.2; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
Which record sets Haywood County's peak score of 16.0?
"MISSION COMMUNITY PRIMARY CARE-HAYWOOD" leads the active set (score 16.0; mental health; 149,321 people in the service area; designated 02/05/2024). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 6 active rows: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Haywood County's severity reading?
After "MISSION COMMUNITY PRIMARY CARE-HAYWOOD", the next active names on this release are "MISSION COMMUNITY PRIMARY CARE-HAYWOOD", "LI - Haywood County", "LI - Haywood County" and "MISSION COMMUNITY PRIMARY CARE-HAYWOOD". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~7.4 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Haywood County's high-severity geography?
Haywood County's 6 active designations can open NHSC placement, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers, eligibility follows the designated area and provider type, not merely the county line around "MISSION COMMUNITY PRIMARY CARE-HAYWOOD".

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 37087. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) , BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH.csv (dental) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.

HRSA Data Warehouse HPSA + MUA/P records for FIPS 37087 (Haywood County, NC), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 6; peak score 16.0; signature peak score 16.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.